Broccoli

Broccoli has everything it takes to please the palate! Its taste goes perfectly with many dishes, and it is rich in vitamins and anti-cancer compounds. Hard to get any better than that!

Broccoli is a vegetable rich in vitamins and minerals.

It contains substances with anti-cancer properties.

It is easy to prepare in multiple ways.

It is best to eat broccoli raw or lightly cooked.

Children can become accustomed to it at a young age.

Broccoli can also be white or purple.

Health
benefits

Highly concentrated nutriments

Broccoli is an extraordinary vegetable! It has an extremely high nutritional density. It is rich in vitamin C and vitamin B9, even when cooked or frozen! And that’s not all. Broccoli, like other cruciferous vegetables (cabbage, turnips, and more) contain glucosinolates, molecules that are thought to help prevent certain cancers by acting in synergy with vitamin C and beta-carotene.

Broccoli is also a source of:

vitamin C—almost three times more raw than when cooked! (for the skin and collagen, the nervous system, psychological functions, and the immune system, and fights oxidative stress).

Choosing and
storing broccoli

You should pay attention to the appearance of the head, but other factors count as well. The stem should be fresh and the same color as the head, bright green, with tightly closed buds.

Properly store your broccoli:

Broccoli lasts from four to five days when stored in the vegetable drawer of the refrigerator.

If it wrapped in plastic, take off the packaging at the last minute. If it is not packaged, wrap it in plastic before putting it in the refrigerator. By doing so, you preserve the buds.

Tips and
tricks

How to prepare broccoli

We eat the young florets, or the little-developed groups of buds, but also the stalk.

Cook the broccoli quickly, on moderate heat. That way, the broccoli will retain some of its crunch as well as a good number of its protective compounds, including the highly fragile glucosinolates.

Some cooking time recommendations::

Steamed or sautéed: Five minutes for a crunchy result.

Boiled: Seven to ten minutes, not more, for broccoli that has just turned tender.

In the microwave: Six minutes at full power and it’s done.

Broccoli goes well with…

Broccoli is a star in the kitchen!

Eaten raw, it goes wonderfully with a yoghurt dressing, fromage blanc, a light mayonnaise for an appetizer, or mustard…and all homemade dressings. Grated broccoli adds crunch to salads and pasta, and sliced thinly with other vegetables, it livens up a delicious vegetable carpaccio.

With cooked broccoli, you can make tasty vegetable pasta sauces and add flavor to risottos, quiches, and even pizza!

It is also a great match for pulses (lentils, chickpeas, and more) and steamed or oven-baked fish.

Can people of
all ages eat it?

Young children

Broccoli heads can be offered to children in purée form as soon as they begin to eat solid food. They will enjoy it more as a crunchy snack when it is served with a dipping sauce (Anzman-Frasca & al, Appetite, 2012). Its sulfurous smell and bitter taste may limit children’s appreciation for this vegetable. It is therefore advisable to offer it to them multiple times from a very young age to increase the chances they will like it. The more familiar a vegetable is, the better the chances are that children will like it—that is why the differences in taste vary so much from one country to another.

And everyone else

Although broccoli is not one of the favorite vegetables of the elderly, its tender texture after cooking makes it one of the easiest for them to eat (Roininen & al, Food Quality & Preference, 2004).

Where does it
come from?

Origins: While broccoli is very common in Italy, the top world producers of the vegetable are China, India, and Spain. Italy and the United Kingdom are next in line. The Americans are among the top consumers of broccoli worldwide.

Varieties: Broccoli is in the cabbage family and is a close cousin of cauliflower. It is characterized by its beautiful green color. It can also be white or purple. There are several varieties:

Cauliflower broccoli is widely used in Italy and the South of France. This is the kind that most resembles cauliflower.

Sprouting broccoli is most common, with buds at the end of long stems, like asparagus.

Romanesco broccoli has such a beautiful appearance that it seems like a sculpture. It is common throughout Italy.

Calabrese broccoli, the best-known and most widely consumed variety in Canada, is made up of a main stem topped by green florets, which can sometimes appear purplish in color.